Parly's public works & infrastructure committee eyes March public hearing into George building collapse

CAPE TOWN - Parliament's public works and infrastructure committee plans to hold a public hearing in George as soon as March to get to the bottom of what caused an incomplete apartment block to collapse in the town last year. 

Thirty-four people died and more than two dozen were injured when the building caved in on workers in May. 

At a briefing at Parliament on Thursday, the committees of employment and labour and public works and infrastructure said that the matter remained top of their agendas for the upcoming parliamentary year.

The parliamentary committees grappling with the George building collapse have defended why they have to date not invited anybody to explain what transpired at that construction site.

They said that investigations across several departments and professional bodies were still to be completed. 

Nevertheless, chairperson of the employment and labour committee, Boyce Maneli, said that the matter remained on his radar. 

"The department, at this point, may not be ready with that report, as there are also dependencies from the others and then we will have to reschedule that."

Chairperson of the public works committee, Carol Phiri, said that her committee wanted to hear from several roleplayers, including the municipality, on whether building regulations were followed.

"In the second quarter, around March, we are anticipating to go to George to do public participation and go further into details and understand what happened to that collapse."

Last year, the Western Cape government announced it had received its investigation report on the building collapse but the findings have not been publicly shared.